Charles: I tend to agree and I may be becoming too much of a codger. I
don't want to discourage flourishes. When I was younger I was quite up to
putting on the style--it was almost a calling card. But I learned almost
from the beginning that I could do just about anything as long as I ended
up where I was supposed to be--on time. I agree that fun is central to the
dance, but I also insist that courtesy is also essential. I have the same
issue with the nearly ubiquitous "Petronella clap." I don't usually do it
but don't care if others do. It does, however, remain a flourish.
Inevitably it is the first thing about a petronella twirl that newcomers
pick up and almost as inevitably it contributes to unnecessary confusion
for them. Clap away, twirl away, jump and shout, get down and get funky,
but help the newcomers/inexperienced dancers learn to become experienced
dancers.
On Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 3:18 PM, Charles Hannum <root(a)ihack.net> wrote:
There are different reasons that people contra dance.
I'm pretty sure
that for some, it really is about the flourishes, and the flirtiness
thereof, and therefore it's more important to them than being on time.
Unless they are actually causing the set to fall apart, I'm not sure
this is per se a problem, nor if so what the solution would be without
discouraging some people from coming to the dance.
It seems to me that being too strict about the dancing leads to
situations like we had several years ago locally, where a bunch of
dancers who had been dancing at a particular location for many years
were offended by all the wacky stuff the “young people” were doing.
This is part of why, to this day, there is still a strong separation
of who dances in which lines.
The challenge for organizers and callers is really to make the dance
welcoming to a variety of people, even though those people may want
somewhat different things from the dance.
On Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 15:08, George Mercer <geopmercer(a)gmail.com> wrote:
I love a good star promenade and butterfly whirl,
but there are inherent
issues that crop up at almost every dance. First and foremost is the
experienced dancers who are too busy doing their "flourishes" to actually
do the appropriate move (and are thereby teaching inexperienced dancers
that the flourish is more important and more fun than the actual move) or
to do it at the appropriate time and who just flat out don't understand
how
important it is to help the other dancers.
Callers are also part of the
problem. They almost never teach dancers that there is very little
waiting/standing in a contra or square dance, even if someone else is
doing
the move [Think of baseball fielders beginning to
move as the pitcher is
making the release...even though they have no diea wher the ball is going
to be hit]. As to the star promenade/butterfly whirl, the non-allemander
(now there's a word) should be moving before the person he/she is going
to
promenade with gets there. This happens on other
moves as well--think of
all the 20 beat heys you've encountered. We should also consider
counseling new/inexperienced dancers that the music will help them to
know
when to terminate a move and begin the next, and
that stopping early is
almost always better than stopping late. I mentioned this at a dance
recently where I was calling and some of the dancers applauded. Callers
can
also help by making the call before the move,
which we all know we should
be doing anyway (though we all sometimes fail to do). It also very rare
that I hear a caller/instructor remind dancers that if they are late for
or
actually miss a move not to worry, but if at all
possible to get on to
the
next move in time.
On Mon, Feb 6, 2012 at 9:29 PM, Bob Green <bobgreen(a)swbell.net> wrote:
> > All that's a long build-up to: Anybody got hints for briefly and
> > effectively
> > teaching a *good* star promenade? (Not just the geography - that's
easy
> > enough
> > - but the dynamics that make it satisfying.)
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > -- Alan
> >
> >
> > -
> >
> Let me look at some of the "Boot Heel Boys" raw video. Jim & John both
like
> to sprinkle star promenades into their
dances, and particularly when
Jim is
calling,
I seem to remember them almost always feeling pretty good. Here
are some edited ones, but they don't help much with your real question:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFz4U3Y3OEM&feature=player_embedded#ded#!
http://dancevideos.childgrove.org/contra/contra-modern/193-caveman.html
Bob
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